The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-06-03

lans first disappointment. He began the
march up the Peninsula April 4, 1862 His
army was divided into two columns, right
and left The right marched up along York
river toward Yorktown, under Gen. Heint-
zelman. The left, commanded by Gen. Reyes,
followed the James river up toward Williams
burg. BY following the line Of march upon
the map, the course of the two columns will
he clear. Reyes was to proceed as rapidly as
might be on the west and occupy Halfway
House, point on the narrow dividing ridge
which formed the watershed between the
York and James rivers. He was to halt here
and by all means prevent either the escape of
the Confederate garrison at Yorktown or the
throwing in Of re-enforcements to them.
Reyes was expected to reach Halfway
House April 5. But he did not The two
months rain of the spring of 1862 began as
the Federal army began to move The roads
became at some points impossible for artil-
lery.
Another thing: In all the years that the
United States had been country there never
had been an accurate map made of this part
of Virginia. OF the region Immediately in
front OF Heintzelman's column there was no
better map than the one made when the Brit
"A
ment survey of the Peninsula had been
made in 1918, but later than that there was
nothing to 60 by.
unknown region Of swamp, with rain pour
ing night and day, and lines of heavy Con
federate Notifications between it and Rich
mond. or all this the two advancing col
umns knew nothing, except just that it
rained That was plain enough
April Reyes marched five miles out, ELL
countered the Confederate Notifications at
Lees Mills and stopped. Seven miles below
Yorktown there was line of Notifications
quite across the solid ground of the Peninsula,
which, between the head of Warwick river
and York river, narrowed to three miles
Besides that the Confederates had damned
the deep creeks flowing into the James and
Warwick rivers, which had backed the ws.sr
into impenetrable boys.
The Confederate army Of the Peninsula was
under the immediate command of Gen. J.
Bankhead Magruder. He had prepared or
begun three lines of fertilization across the
Peninsula. The first one was seven miles
below Yorktown. While Mcclellan had
been equipping his army and getting "gool
ready" at Washington, the Confederates had
DeeH iOTUlIy ing DeCWetu MIN ana ftCnm0nt.
1t was the Warwick river and the fortifica-
tions along its course which stopped McClcl-
1aii's army, both Heintzelman on the right
and Reyes on the left. This river on TIE
maps Mcclellan had access to flowed parallel
with those rivers, nearly southeast IL
reality it flowed across the Peninsula betwec.
the rivers.
1t made formidable barrier, fortified as it
was. Keyes' column stopped at Lees Mills,
on the Warwick, and encamped there
Heintzelman's column approached nearer
Yorktown, where it was also stopped by the
Warwick. This was Magruder's second and
most important line of Notifications. The
first had been abandoned March l. The old
line of Notifications thrown up by the British
in 1871 had been revived by Magruder. Along
the line of the Warwick, stretched across the
Peninsula, were IL 600 Confederates, and this
was the force opposed to Mcclellan with his
army of 5000 men.
President Lincoln kept dispatching TO him
to "strike blow" Magruder expected an
attack. His troops lay upon their arms in
the trenches several days awaiting the attack.
OPPOSITE where HcClellan's army lay, iic:--